APTA Back in Chicago; Conference Hits Big!
10/15/2026
APTA returned to Chicago—the site of its first EXPO in 1981—to welcome nearly 14,000 attendees, 700 exhibitors, and 30 news outlets to the 2026 TRANSform & EXPO, October 4-7.
A mixed-media opening session, complete with a live blues band, paid tribute to APTA and Chicago’s history of innovation in business, the arts, and transportation. Calling Chicago “the city that built America,” APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas welcomed and thanked the audience.
“This has been a momentous year,” said Skoutelas, “and we have shown our leaders in Washington and across the country that public transportation drives the economy.”
After detailing what he called “the remarkable work of our members”—including increased ridership during the World Cup and America 250 celebrations, strong federal funding for fiscal year 2026, and successful infrastructure projects and local ballot initiatives—Skoutelas said APTA’s enduring character “is our commitment to each other and the communities we serve.”
Outgoing APTA Chair Leanne Redden said that hosting the TRANSform Conference and EXPO in her hometown made her tenure feel that much more special and complete. She described the past year’s challenges and achievements at APTA and Chicago’s Regional Transit Authority, where she had been executive director before retiring as it became the Northern Illinois Transit Authority.
At APTA, the board approved more than 80 pages of recommendations for a new surface transportation law, a study mission to transit systems in Asia was completed, and new task forces on paratransit and railcar manufacturing were created—as was a new committee on autonomous/electric vehicles.
“None of this could have happened without the power of partnerships to build consensus toward a better good,” said Redden. She stressed the lessons learned: the importance of listening openly and with empathy to opposing ideas, keeping the focus on a common goal, and not minding who gets the credit. “Progress rarely happens without some pain,” she said, “but I can think of no more fulfilling role than supporting this wonderful city, our nation’s transit agencies, and all of you.”
Calling her successor “an inspiration for our industry,” Redden introduced incoming APTA Chair Denise Figueroa, Board Member of the Capital District Transportation Authority in Albany, NY.
Figueroa told attendees that she is eager to bring the energy and focus that is needed at a time like this to her role of APTA Chair. Having contracted polio as an infant, she built a successful life and career as a respected advocate for people with disabilities. Along the way, she demonstrated how mobility improves the quality of one’s life, but also benefits communities and the economy.
The organization she founded three years before the American with Disabilities Act became law—the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley—set in motion nationwide progress and helped change the way the Americans viewed people with disabilities.
“When public transportation benefits a rider using a wheelchair, a parent with a stroller, or an older adult who no longer drives, that’s when public transportation benefits all of us,” said Figueroa. “I’m passionate about enacting a new pro-transit Surface Transportation Law that expands accessibility because we must complete the work that we began under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
She concluded her first speech as APTA Chair by asking for members’ help, saying “Positive change requires intentionality in the choices we make and the actions we take; that’s what makes APTA so effective … that’s how we’ve met this moment … and that’s how I intend to lead as Chair.”
Also at the opening session, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson praised the impact that public transportation investments have had on business, tourism, and access to opportunities in and around the city. Later, keynote speaker Cassandra Worthy spoke about the importance of motivating, managing, and empowering disruptive change as a “change enthusiast.” She provided guidance on the costs, emotions, and growth benefits of embracing change in our lives and work.
Additional speakers included Henrika Buchanan, national transit and rail market leader at HNTB Corporation, a sponsor of the TRANSform Conference; and Ray Melleady, Chair of APTA’s Business Member Board of Governors and president of STER North America LLC, who introduced a video from AECOM, sponsor of the morning’s opening general session.